Taalnabami

What is the ideal age for children to learn about class and entitlement? I think my first sense about it was from this story by someone named Taalnabami, which I read in Anandamela, an indian magazine for the young. The details are a bit sketchy, as i don't remember much of my childhood.

Taalnabami, is supposedly, a hindu festival on the ninth day of a puja where pithas (cakes) of coconut palm (Taal, I don't know the exact word) is used as an offering, and then shared with neighbors and relatives.

So, the story went where a rich woman employs poor kids of the village to climb the trees to procure Taal for the festival, and they fantasize about how nice it'll be to receive cakes from her. But then she doesn't invite them to the festivities, presumably because they are of a lower stature of the society, and the boy looks from a distance as other children visit that house and come back happy with the cakes.

It's a strange story to be remembering, but I was thinking about it after several experiences with the street children in Kabul. In my part of town, which is less developed, the children come to you for money, but they are polite, and doesn't say anything when you refuse (part of my org policy is to discourage alms, which is somewhat let them eat cake, but I usually concur). In touristic, rather expatriate frequented places like Wazir Akbar Khan, the street children are very aggressive, and pretty much demands it any way they can. One of the surprises I faced a month ago was when a woman completely covered in blue veil held on to my arm, and I was amazed at her strength, even though I couldn't tell what she looked like, her age or her ethnicity.

It is a moral dilemma for me. In Bangladesh, you can usually tell the gang from a legitimate person in need, and can make an informed decision. Here, thanks to 30 years of war, everyone looks distraught and in need. And to be fair, they probably are. But strange that some of them feel entitled to ask for help, and others are so low on the totem pole, they don't even know how to.

I sometimes wish I could do more. Not often enough though.